Suspension device for lamp-shades



(No Model.) D. W. PARKER.

SUSPENSION Dvo FOR LAMP SHADBS. No. 311,519. Patgnted Feb. ,3, 18,8521

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DEXTER lV. PARKER, OF MEEIDEN, CNNECTICUT.

SUSPENSHON DEVBCE `FOR LAMP-SHADS.

SPECIFICATION forming part or" Letters Patent No. 311,519, dated February 3, 1885.

Application filed April 5, 1884. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may.; concer/t:

Be it known that I, DEXTER IV. PARKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Meriden, in the county of New I-Iaven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Suspension Devices for Lamp-Shades, of which the following is a speciiieation, reference beinghad therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to devices for holding the shades of hanging lamps, and more especially of the extension-lamps in common use. rIhese lamps are sometimes provided with a crown-ring at the top of the shade, sometimes with a base-ring at the bottom of the shade,

` and sometimes with both a crown-ring and a base-ring. In my presentimprovement I make use oi' both a crown-ring and a base-ring, but this is not by any means broadly new.

The shade has heretofore, in many instances, been suspended from the crown-ring. In many other instances it has been supported by the base-ring. In others it has been supported by hooks which depend from the erown-ring, or directly by long chains from the canopy. Sometimes the harp has been attached to the crown-ring, and the latter has been attached to the chains, so as to become, after them, the primary means of suspension. Sometimes the supporting-ring,whether base-ring or crownring, has been attached to the harp, and the latter used as a primary or intermediate means oi' suspending the shade. In my present improvement the shade-rings (crown and base) are connected together by intermediate devices, so that the upper shade-ring or crownring sustains the weight ot the lower shadering or base'ring, the suspension-chains being attached to the former. If the connee tions are rigid, the suspension-chains may be attached to the base-ring instead. The weight of the shade may lest uponthe base-ring5 or the neck of the shade may be clamped to the crown-ring, so that it will be suspended therefrom.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents aperspective View, taken from below, of an extensiondamp embodying my invention, the Weight, canopy, and upper part of the suspension-chains not being shown because having nothing to do with the invention. Fig. 2 represents a detail vertical section ol' a shade, its rings, and their connections. Fig. 3 represents a similar view show ing chains used as connectionsinstead of rods.

In said drawings, A designates the suspendingAchains of an extension-lamp liXture; B, the crown-ring; C, the shade; D, the basering; E, the lamp-harp, and F the lamp supported on that harp. erably, though not necessarily, three in num-i ber, arranged, as usual, at equal distances, and attached to the crown-ring B. The harp is attached to the basering by screws or in any convenient manner.

The shade C, as shown in Figs. l and 2, rests upon the base-ring; but, as shown in Fig. 3, it may be suspended from the crown-ring by means of elampingscrews c or other attaching devices. ln this latter figure it does not extend down to the bottom lange, d, of the base-ring, the latter being simply a proacting-ring.

In Figs. l and 2 the connecting devices between the crown-ring and the base-ring consist of rods E, which may be arranged either outside of the shade, as shown in Fig. 1, er inside thereof, as shown in Fig. 2. These rods should be adjustable and easily removable-the former to allow the use of shades which vary in size, the latter to allow the fixture to be taken apart and the shade removed without diliiculty. As shown in Fig. 2, I screw-thread the ends of the rods, pass them through openings in the horizontal ilanges b d of the shadering and crown-ring, respectively, and clamp them in place by nuts F. Vhen the shade is attached to the crown-ring, as shown in Fig. 3, there is no need to make the connections adjustable, as a smaller size of shade may be used without making any change in the fixture or in the relation of its parts to one another.

It is preferable to have the connecting devices inside the shade, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in order to facilitate the removal of the shade, and also to keep said connecting devices somewhat concealed.

In Fig. 3 chains are shown (marked G) as substitutes for rods E, the said chains being provided with terminal hooks g, which are detachably hooked into openings in the flanges b d ot' the shaderings.

It is obvious that many other devices for rllhe chains A are pref- 6o IDO attaching the rods or chains to the shade rings may be employed instead of nuts an screwthreads or hooks.

I am aware that in a prior patent the suspension-chains are guided through openings in the crown-ring and attached to the basering; but this construction, though having some resemblance in appearance, is essentially different from mine. It does not really connect the shaderings, and the crown-ring, with all the weight attached to it, bears upon the shade, which must always be in danger of fracture in consequence. lVIy construction relieves the shade of this strain.

I am also aware that in earlier patents (notably in those taken out by myself either as sole inventor or jointly with others) the harp has been attached to both the upper shadering and the lower shade-ring, and might be said to form a connection between them. The

` amount of material used in the harp when thus constructed is, however, very much greater than the amount required by the construction herein described, and the rods E or chains G do not by any means make up the difference, these rods and chains being light and extending in a direct line without branches either from above or below. The result is greater cheapness in construction, and a reduction of Weight in the iiXture as a whole. Again, the harp and lamp may be detached from the remainder of the fixture without disturbing the shade or reaching to the upper ring (crownring) thereof'. This would beirnpracticable if the harp were attached to both the crownring and the base-ring.

I am aware that an ornamental base-ring has sometimes been attached to a shade by screws and sometimes hung from the crownring by springs; but these methods are obviously unsuited to any base-rings except very light ones, and I make no claim to them in this application. The rods E and chains G, be-` ing inextensible and` inelastic, afford a secure means of support for the heaviest base-ring. If springs were substituted, the momentum ofthe heavy base-ring would stretch them, and their resiliency would rattle the Asolid base-ring against the shade, involving risk of fracture.

I'am also aware that it is not new toemploy a crown-ring and a base-ring for securing in place a reflector or a globe, said rings being connected by rods detachably attached thereto.

I am also aware that it is not broadly new nect said rings to one another, substantiallyl as set forth.

2. In an extension-lamp fixture, the combination of a crown-ring, a base-ring, a harp attached to one of said rings, a lamp-shade, and rods or chains which connect said rings to one another, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a crown-ring, a basering, and a shade with a lamp-harp suspended from said base-ring, and devices connecting said base-ring to said crown-ring, said con-v necting devices being independentot' the harp, substantially as set forth.

4. Adjustable connecting devices, in combination with two shade-rings, to which they are attached, a shade arranged between said rings and supported by one or both of them, and a lamp harp attached to the lower ring and unattached to said connecting devices, substantially as set forth.

5. A lamp-shade and its crown-ring and base-ring, in combination with a harp attached to said base-ring, and connecting devices detachable from both of said rings, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signatur-e in presence of two witnesses.

DEXTER W. PARKER.

`Witnesses:

G. E. STOCKDER, Jr., RALPH A. PALMER. 

